Where does Ryan Petersen work?

Ryan Petersen is Partner at Founders Fund and Founder & CEO at Flexport.

What check size does Ryan Petersen write?

Ryan Petersen typically writes checks of $2.5M – $20M.

Ryan Petersen

InvestorUnicorn founder

Partner at Founders Fund · CEO at Flexport

San Francisco, CA

Writes $2.5M – $20M checks

FoundedFlexport$8B · YC

About

Ryan Petersen founded Flexport in 2013 and built the digital freight forwarder to a $8 billion valuation — then handed the CEO seat to an Amazon veteran in 2022, watched the company overextend, and took it back twelve months later, rescinding signed offers and cutting office space on day one. He learned trade running his family's China import business as a teenager and co-founded ImportGenius, which sold US customs data. His 2021 Twitter thread on unclogging the Long Beach port backlog drew a response from California's governor. Flexport turned profitable in 2025 and targets organic profitability in 2026; he is also a venture partner at Founders Fund.

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningFintechLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationSaaS

Beyond investing

Founded: Co-founded ImportGenius in 2007 with his brother David and Michael Kanko, selling US customs and bill-of-lading data. Founded Flexport in 2013 and took it through Y Combinator in 2014. Ryan Petersen founded ImportGenius, a provider of transaction data for the global trade industry. Ryan Petersen founded Flexport, a global supply chain technology company.
Education: Studied at UC Berkeley (BA) Studied at Columbia Business School (MBA)
Communities: His 2021 Twitter thread on unclogging the Los Angeles/Long Beach port backlog drew a response from Governor Gavin Newsom.
Family: Married to journalist Olivia Zaleski; they have two daughters. Ryan Petersen is a father of two young children and a husband.
More: Handed the CEO role to Amazon veteran Dave Clark in 2022, became executive chairman, and returned as CEO on September 7, 2023 — immediately rescinding signed offers and cutting office space. Learned the trade running his family's import/export business, moving to China in 2005 at 24 to handle operations.

Mentioned above: the Y Combinator mafia → · the Columbia Business School mafia → · the Flexport mafia →

From Ryan's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Founder & CEO at Flexport YC W14

Intro paths

Ryan went through Y Combinator (Winter 2014) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

→

In turn, Ryan can intro founders to Flexport's investors below.

Flexport's investors · 44

137 VenturesSan Francisco 8VCAustin · $100K – $50M checks Acequia Capital (AceCap)Seattle · $100K – $5M checks Adit Ventures Management, LlcNew York Allied Venture PartnersCalgary · $100K – $350K checks Andreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M checks · since 2022 Better Tomorrow VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $4M checks Bloomberg BetaSan Francisco · $25K – $1M checks Champion Hill Ventures$500K – $1M checks Cherubic VenturesGrand Cayman · $220K – $27M checks · since 2019 DST GlobalGeorge Town, Grand Cayman · $100K – $200M checks · since 2019 Ethos VCSan Francisco · $250K – $3M checks Felicis VenturesSan Francisco · $500K – $15M checks First Round CapitalSan Francisco · $2M checks FJ LabsNew York · $100K – $3M checks Founders FundSan Francisco · $500K – $5M checks · since 2022 FPVJackson · $100K – $5M checks Friends Family CapitalSilicon Valley Fuel CapitalCovina · $500K – $1M checks JovonoCalifornia · $50K – $3M checks JuniperoMiami K2 GlobalSingapore Long Journey VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $1M checks MaC Venture CapitalLos Angeles · $500K – $2M checks Nelstone Ventures Next Legacy PartnersPortola Valley Night Owl Ventures Prologis VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M checks ReshapeNew York · $100K – $2M checks Ritual CapitalMenlo Park · $100K – $500K checks Rosecliff VenturesNew York City · $500K checks Saga VenturesAustin Sherpalo VenturesMenlo Park ShopifyOttawa · since 2022 SoftBank Vision FundLondon · since 2019 Sound VenturesSanta Monica Sozo VenturesRedwood City Sparq Capital (SFO)Palo Alto Standard CapitalSan Francisco Susa VenturesSan Francisco · $1M – $5M checks · since 2019 SV AngelSan Francisco Vershina CapitalNicosia Winklevoss CapitalNew York · $100K – $5M checks Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2014

Co-founders at Flexport

Ryan PetersonExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

Flexport.comFounder and CEOcurrent2013 — presentSan Francisco, California

Education

Columbia Business SchoolMBA2007 — 2008
University of California, BerkeleyBA1998 — 2002

Skills & more

Online Advertising29CRM20Web Development1Content StrategyLean Startup1Market Research42Social Media Marketing15Public Relations25Marketing23Social Media13SEO11Strategic Planning24

+10 more

EntrepreneurshipBloggingCustomer ServiceStart-upsNew Business DevelopmentBusiness PlanningSalesBusiness DevelopmentPastaFly Fishing

Languages Chinese · English · French · Portuguese · Spanish

From Ryan's professional profile.

Podcasts & interviews

featuring Ryan Petersen

CNBC's full interview with Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen

CNBC · cnbc.com

AI Is Eating Logistics

Lightcone

Ryan Petersen: Building Flexport

The Knowledge Project · fs.blog

Garry's Channel: Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen on scaling a startup from zero to $8B

Y Combinator

Colleagues at Founders Fund

Alyx Sylvia

Assistant Controller at Founders Fund

Amin Mirzadegan

Partner at Founders Fund

Brian Singerman

Co-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders Fund

Bridget Harris

Associate at Founders Fund

Danielle Biesanz

Head of Legal Operations at Founders Fund

Delian Asparouhov

Partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of Varda

Denny Lai

Senior Controller at Founders Fund

Ellie Pearson

Head of Recruiting & Operations at Founders Fund

Network5

Delian AsparouhovScout

Partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of Varda

Amin MirzadeganScout

Partner at Founders Fund

Bridget HarrisScout

Associate at Founders Fund

David LernerScout

Venture Partner at RTP Global

Eugene MarinelliScout

Operating Advisor at Conversion Capital

Investors connected to Ryan in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Ryan Petersen work?: Ryan Petersen is Partner at Founders Fund and Founder & CEO at Flexport.
What does Ryan Petersen invest in?: Ryan Petersen invests in AI & Machine Learning, Fintech, Logistics & Supply Chain, Mobility & Transportation, SaaS.
What check size does Ryan Petersen write?: Ryan Petersen typically writes checks of $2.5M – $20M.
What companies did Ryan Petersen found?: Ryan Petersen founded Flexport.